What's up, doc? A cartoon bonanza!

June 21, 2007|By Gabrielle Salerno Of The Morning Call

¡Andale, andale! ¡Arriba, arriba! Dash down a la Speedy Gonzalez to the Allentown Art Museum to glimpse some of the most celebrated cartoon characters in animation history in the summer blockbuster exhibit, "That's All Folks: The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons."

The exhibition is an expanded version of the show that hung at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1985. It's been traveling since the 1990s and has stopped at roughly 20 venues, the closest being the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown in 2005.

The show, consisting of 150 drawings, paintings, cels (celluloids) and animated films from the 1930s to the 1960s, opens this Sunday, but those attending a preview party on Saturday can catch a sneak peek. The art is on loan from private collector Steve Schneider, an American writer who currently lives in Amsterdam.

Prior to landing in Allentown by truck, the works were on display at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Mont. After the show wraps up on Sept. 16, the art will travel to a gallery in northern California.

At the Allentown Art Museum, the show will occupy two rooms -- the Kress and the Rodale galleries. In the Kress Gallery, walls painted lively shades of orange, blue and green, as well as Bugs Bunny gray, create the mood for cartoon zaniness.

A welcome wall adorned with large, cartoon-font text sets the Warner Bros. story in motion and introduces visitors to the superstars that came out of studio.

There are two walls celebrating the biggest players: Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck; Sylvester, Tweety, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. And an entire wall at the far end of the gallery, opposite the room's entryway, is devoted to the flagship character, Bugs Bunny.

The gallery's highlights, says the show's onsite curator, Lee Vedder, are niches paying homage to the men who made it all possible -- Warner Bros. directors Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones.

Guests interested in learning how the characters popped from page to screen should wander through the Rodale Gallery, which offers a step-by-step look at the cartoon-creation process.

Model sheets, animation drawings, background paintings, cels, publicity prints and a jumbo screen showing cartoon clips give visitors an appreciation for the talent and time that went into creating each flashing six-to-seven-minute short.

Though the exhibit comes pre-packaged, the museum has put its spin on the show to differentiate it from its previous tour stops. A few new aspects include embellished character profiles, main text panels and the profiles of the directors. Vedder, who drew from Schneider's book, "That's All Folks: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation," also revised and regenerated the exhibition text to give the show a fresh face.

"We were interested in a show with artistic integrity that would have a broad appeal," says David R. Brigham, former executive director. "We liked the fact that Warner Bros. has been producing these cartoons since the 1930s, so everyone from young children to people in their 70s have watched them."

Youngsters are sure to love the colorful, come-to-life cartoons. They can delve deeper into the world of animaniacs by taking a trip to "Toon Town," the museum's please-touch area for families.

The interactive space will feature a theater with a red-carpet entrance, a "Twicks of the Twade" studio for making sound effects using coconut shells and other noisemakers, an art studio for designing cels, a fan mailbox for sending letters to favorite cartoon characters, a shadow wall, a story area, and a flip-book-making station.

Adults will discover their inner child, too. "For a lot of adults it will be reacquainting themselves with old friends," says Vedder. "They're smart, clever. They resonate. I've never spoken to anyone who didn't love or appreciate these characters."

gabrielle.salerno@mcall.com

610-820-6108

A LOONEY TUNES PRIMER

PORKY PIG

Who: The stuttering swine became the studio's fist major cartoon star. He was first penned by Friz Freleng in 1935 and his look evolved -- he was made to look cuter -- when Bob Clampett took over in 1937. He was redesigned again in the 1940s by Chuck Jones to look more "adult-looking."

First appearance: "I Haven't Got a Hat," 1935

Friends: Petunia Pig (his girlfriend), Daffy Duck

Foes: Bugs Bunny

Famous words: "That's all, folks!"

DAFFY DUCK

Who: This unrestrained character best encapsulates the personalities of the Warner Bros. directors. He started out under the direction of Tex Avery, then Bob Clampett made him even zanier. In the 1940s, Robert McKimson got his hands on him and tamed him a bit.